Minnesota procedural guides

Plain-English guides to the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure, each one tied to the rules it relies on. Every rule named in a guide has its own page with the official text.

• Responding to a Minnesota complaint: 21 days from the summons, in a case that may not be filed yetMinnesota Rule 12.01 gives 21 days after service of the summons to serve an answer — and because Minnesota actions are commenced by service, there may be no court file to look at.
• Commencing a Minnesota action: you sue before you file, and you have one year to fileMinnesota commences a civil action by serving the summons, not by filing it — and Rule 5.04(a) deems the action dismissed with prejudice if it is not filed within one year of commencement.
• Minnesota garnishment: you get ten days' warning before your wages are touchedMinnesota requires an earnings exemption notice to be served ten or more days before the first garnishment summons — and returning the exemption claim inside those ten days stops the garnishment.
• Appealing a Minnesota conciliation court judgment: it's a removal, and it starts the case overMinnesota does not review conciliation court judgments on appeal — a party removes the case to district court within 21 days of notice, and gets an entirely new trial.
• The Minnesota motion to dismiss: six grounds, made before pleadingMinn. R. Civ. P. 12.02 lets six defenses be raised by motion, but the motion must be made before pleading — and the answer clock runs from service, which in Minnesota is what starts the case.
• Responding to summary judgment in Minnesota: 14 days minimum, and cite the recordMinnesota's Rule 56 requires a summary judgment motion to be served at least 14 days before the hearing and no more than 30 days after discovery closes — and every factual assertion must cite particular parts of the record.
• Setting aside a Minnesota default judgment: one year, and a separate route if you were never notifiedMinn. R. Civ. P. 60.02 caps mistake, newly discovered evidence and fraud at one year — but preserves a distinct power to relieve a defendant who was never actually personally notified.
• The Minnesota motion to compel: failing to disclose and failing to admit are separate provisionsMinnesota Rule 37 separates failure to disclose or supplement from failure to admit, and makes fees mandatory when the motion is granted but discretionary when denied.

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